MacGregors and Nielsen Hackmatack Finalists

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Ice chips 2nielsen no fixed addressCongratulations to the 2019/2020 finalists for the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Awards including, The Ice Chips and the Haunted Hurricane, the second book in the Ice Chips series from father-daughter writing duo Roy and Kerry MacGregor, and Susin Nielsen’s middle-grade story, No-Fixed Address.

The 2019-2020 shortlist will be promoted at this year’s ceremony on May 31st at the Halifax Central Library. The shortlisted books will then be read in the 2019-2020 school year by thousands of children in the Atlantic region. Young readers will vote for their favourite book, and four winners will be announced at the Hackmatack Awards Ceremony in May 2020.

Atwood Selects Gowdy Title for Globe & Mail Book Club

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gowdy white boneMargaret Atwood has selected Barbara Gowdy’s novel, The White Bone, as the inaugural title for The Globe and Mail‘s book club. Subscribers are invited to discuss the book in an online forum in response to a weekly discussion question. The book club will culminate in a live event where Atwood will interview Barbara Gowdy at the Globe and Mail Centre on May 24.

First published in 1998, Quill & Quire said of the national bestseller, “With writing that manages to be both incisive and hallucinogenic, and that is born along by a moral vision and a deftly controlled sense of outrage, Gowdy has created a landscape, a cosmology, and a community that are wholly surprising and believable. The White Bone is a singular and remarkable novel.”

Starred Reviews for Maclear’s Operatic

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operaticOperaticfrom author Kyo Maclear and illustrator Byron Eggenschwiler has received starred reviews from Booklist, Quill & Quire, and School Library Journal.

“Opera is an unusual but pitch-perfect match for that swell of overwhelming feeling, and Maclear and Eggenschwiler fold it into the story perfectly. A poignant, pithy, and arrestingly illustrated story.” —Booklist

“Operatic offers a deft look at adolescence, rich but subtle, accessible but beautifully complex.” —Quill & Quire

“Brimming with raw emotion, music references, and gorgeous art, this memorable and relatable graphic novel will linger with ­readers.” –School Library Journal

Operatic publishers April 1, 2019 with Groundwood Books.

Chariandy Wins Windham-Campbell Prize

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Brotherbrotherchariandy brotherChariandy - BrotherDavid Chariandy’s second novel Brother has won the Windham-Campbell Prize in the category of fiction. Congratulations David on this astounding achievement!

What the jury said:

“Offering a vision at once entirely humane and immensely tender, David Chariandy lays bare the ways that gestures and details articulate the revelations of grief as well as the intimacies found within fraught and fraying social spaces.”

Chariandy’s reaction to the news:

“I was floored by the news! And for some time, I didn’t dare believe my fortune. The Windham-Campbell Prize offers a life-changing opportunity to devote time and energy to writing. I am humbled and profoundly grateful to be counted among the recipients.”

Click here for more information about the prize.

WCA Deal Report for March 1, 2019

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Mondadori have renewed their license for Spanish rights to Rohinton Mistry’s A FINE BALANCE. The deal was arranged by Sandra Bruna & Jordi Ribolleda of Sandra Bruna Agency on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.

Romanian rights to Jay Ingram’s THE SCIENCE OF WHY 3 to Editura Niculescu. The deal was arranged by Andreea Focsaneanu of Simona Kessler Agency on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

French rights to Darrel McLeod’s MAMASKATCH to VLB Editeur/Groupe VilleMarie Litterature, at auction. The deal was arranged by Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists.

WCA Deal Report for February 22, 2019

By Deals

Bhavna Chauhan at Appetite (an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada) has acquired World English Rights to Tara Henley‘s LEAN OUT: A MEDITATION ON THE MADNESS OF MODERN LIFE. Part memoir, part travelogue and part journalistic investigation, Lean Out explores the stresses of the 24/7 work world – and the radical communities around the globe that are resisting it.The deal was arranged by John Pearce at Westwood Creative Artists in association with Chris Casuccio and will be published in Spring 2020.

Senior editor Laurie Grassi of Simon & Schuster Canada has acquired world English rights to film and tv producer (Story of a Girl) Liz Levine’s NOBODY EVER TALKS ABOUT ANYTHING BUT THE END: A MEMOIR OF LOSSa haunting, heartbreaking, yet often humorous account of life and loss, family and friendship, this portrait of grief and mental illness reveals what it means to try to keep moving forward, in spite of everything. Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists represented Levine in the deal, for publication in spring 2020.

James is Ezra Jack Keats Honor Recipient

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matt james funeralCongratulations to author and illustrator Matt James! His illustrated children’s book The Funeral is a 2019 Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor winner.

Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, said, “It is a joy and a privilege each year to recognize and support new writers and illustrators who create beautiful and entertaining books that reflect the childhood experiences of our diverse population. The Ezra Jack Keats Award brings greater attention to artists who, like Ezra, seek to inspire all children to achieve their full potential.”

Chariandy’s “Brother” is Canada Reads 2019 Contender

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chariandy brotherWe couldn’t be happier to see David Chariandy’s brilliant novel Brother on the Canada Reads 2019 shortlist! Lisa Ray will be defending Chariandy’s second novel in the debates which will air from March 25-28, 2019.⠀

From CBC Books, “Rooted in Chariandy’s own experience growing up as a person of colour in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, the novel is a beautiful meditation on discrimination, agency, grief and the power of human relationships.”⠀